1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector, an electrical connection box and a connector manufacturing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an electrical connection box disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-81688 is known as the one to be mounted in a vehicle. This electrical connection box is formed such that a circuit board is accommodated in a casing made of synthetic resin. The casing includes an upper case with an open lower side and a lower case for closing an opening of this upper case. The circuit board is accommodated in an accommodation space formed by assembling the upper case and the lower case.
An opening facing forward is formed in a wall portion of the upper case, and a connector is arranged in this opening. The connector is provided with a connector housing made of synthetic resin and including a receptacle in which a mating connector is fittable. Substantially L-shaped terminal fittings are arranged in the connector housing. One end part of the terminal fitting is arranged in the receptacle. The other end part of the terminal fitting penetrates through the back wall of the receptacle and is connected to a conductive path formed on the circuit board by a known technique such as soldering.
In the conventional technology, the connector is integrally formed to the upper case. Upper sides, opposite lateral sides and back sides of parts of the terminal fittings located opposite to the receptacle are covered by the wall portion of the upper case. This suppresses the adhesion of water, dust and the like to the terminal fittings. As a result, a short circuit between the terminal fittings can be suppressed.
On the other hand, since the circuit board and the connector housing are made of materials having different coefficients of thermal expansion, a stress may be generated between the circuit board and the connector housing due to a temperature change. If this stress acts on a connecting part of the terminal fitting and the conductive path of the circuit board, electrical connection reliability between the terminal fitting and the conductive path of the circuit board may be reduced, for example, due to a crack formed in the soldered part and the like.
In the electrical connection box according to the conventional technology, parts of the terminal fittings extending backward from the back wall of the receptacle are embedded in the upper case. On the other hand, parts of the terminal fittings extending downward are exposed from the wall portion of the upper case. By the resilient deformation of the parts of the terminal fittings exposed from the wall portion of the upper case, it has been expected to relax a stress acting between the circuit board and the connector housing.
However, a stress acting between the circuit board and the connector housing may not be sufficiently relaxed only by the resilient deformation of the parts of the terminal fittings exposed from the upper case and extending downward.
The present invention was completed based on the above situation and aims to provide a connector and an electrical connection box with improved electrical connection reliability between a terminal fitting and a circuit board and provide a connector manufacturing method.